Self-aligning bearing



Sept. 23, 1952 J. L. FOSTER 6 3 SELF-ALIGNING BEARING Filed Feb. 2, 1960\EMES 455:. IE E5575? pivot.

"line 3'3 of Figure 2.

Patented Sept. 23, 1952 SELF-ALIGNING BEARING James LcslieFoster, LaPorte, Ind., assignor to U. SlicingMachineCompany, 1110., La Porte, Ind;a corporationrof Indiana iApplicationiFebx-uary 2, 1950,.Serial No.141,916

:1 s invention'relate in-general to a pivot and bearing arrangement andmore particularly to. a self-aligning-oknife edge pivot and groovedbearing combination and a support therefor especially adapted for useinvweighing scales.

Itis wellk-nown that a'bearing having-ta -V- -shaped groove adapted toreceive atk-nife edge zpiv-ot should .be mounted so thatthe knife edgeassumes anposition in which the line at the apex of the; groove inthebearing-and the knife edge coincide. If the pivotand bearing are out ofa-lignment when therknife .eolge pivot is mount-ed in thev groove vofthe bearing,.onl-y iapartofuthe knife. edge engagesthe apex of thegroove. ,This may: cause chipping of thepivot or of theebear- ,ing; thusresulting in decreased --accuracy of the weighing scale or other deviceupon-which the knife-edge pivot is-employed. The; proper mount- .ing andalignment of'the' knife edgeand its associated bearing, therefore, mustbe done-very carefully.

An'object oftheinvention is to provide a pivot bearing and amounting:therefor which mayz-be easily adjusted-intoposition-im a weighinvdevice.

' Anotherobjectof'theinventionris to provide i a-knife-edge pivotbearing andsmounting therer for in which the hearing is free: toposition: itself inalignmentwith' the knife edge ofthe; pivot.

-"A- further object of the invention-is to :D V a mounting for a pivotbearingzwhichvwill main- .tain the bearing against translation-or bodilyshifting movement-which would. result indisplacement of'the bearingwith. respect -.to the A still further object-of .the invention isfltoprovide a mounting for avknifeedge pivot bearing which: is easilyadjustable to providefa snug fit between the bearing and itsimounting,after theknife edge and bearing areflinl alignment.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be moreapparent'from a consideration ofthe'following description and drawings 7in" which:

Figure l'is an exploded "perspective-viewof the bearing pivot, andbearing support;

-- Figure 2 is an end view of the inountedhearing assembly -shown fromthe insideg'and Figure 3 isa sectional viewtakenalong-"the The inventionresides in a nov'ehmeansfior -mounting a self-aligning hearing inwhichfthe hearin is held against unnecessary bodily. shifting movementwhile still beingfree to execute the V -limi-ted.cmovementz necessary:for self ealignment.

'6 Claims. (Cl; 308- 2) 2 The novel-means for mounting thebearingcomprises a pair of :cooperating arms disposed on opposite sides of thehearin which are adapted ,to be brought-together in a pinching movementat the one end by means of a force applied adjacent the opposite end.The pinching movement is "accomplished by k bowing a 1 plate ;-havi;ng jthe arms attached to opposite sides of. -;the; plate.

Referring to the drawings,'thepivot'rnember comprisesa knife portion 2on .thegone end i and a roundedstubsshaft-portionfi ,at theother end. ITheknife portion 2 :is adapted total-supper-tedqon thebearinghereinafter:describedwhile the stubshaft portion- 3 ise-adapted:toabe'rrigidly s secured toa -we ig-h: beam or lever A 1 (Figure :3)e'Ihe free. end of the; knife; portion 2 has'ra beveled .surf acetapered downwardly and outwardlyitorapoint; 5 which coincides, withth'e-knifeyedgegfi :of etheflinife portion #2. :The pointai:is-zcommonly referred to :as a thrust point.

The hearing or; knife rest 7 131113011 ,=WhiCh ;.the sknife portion2l-is :adapted to :bermounteiissubl-stantially in the; form of :a:rectangular-11310ckaand may-bemade ofagate, hard glass,charrdenedimetaloruany other:suitable-:material. iTiheznpper; surtace ofithe bearingzorzk-nife rest I haszagvrshaped s groove ft- ;extending;longitudinally: of: the :bearing. The eapex 9 of the; groove. 81 is?straight, -all;.points :thereon being-i-n 1 the same :plane. .iTheslowersurface of the bearing or knife arrest :1 shes :a .recess is extendingtransversely of the bearing, l saidyrecess .being adapted;.to engagethehearing 1 support'member l I.

' The bearingsupport member I lihas :a: .fiatfirectangular; base portionl2. 'An upright portion I3 is :integrallyconnected to one end :of-rithe:jbase portion i Z'fi-Hd extend upwardlyisuhstantiallyat right angles tothe --base ,p0rtion I 2'. vThe aprojecting arms '64, M ..-are disposedin a plane approximately parallel. tothat of the :basecportion l2' andare provided with tapped holes; 1:5, l-51to -.receive:machine screws-l8,i6. p

The entire "bearing support I I irests i-nponithe .machine base IT, andmore particulariylupon bosses- 58 and i9 on the machineibase lit, ,Thebossest8 and i9, areadapted to engage: theq-un- .dersideofotheubaseportion [20f the bearingisu'pport I! near-the opposite sidgedgestherenf.A pair of vertical openings or bores 29, 2| :are ;.provided A in thelongitudinal center -of the :base a portion l2 through which bolts ormachineiscrews .22, 23 may be inserted Thebolts ormachine screws 22, 23are adaptedto be' screwed :into iapair of vverticalr tapped holes"24,325 respectively which :are .--formecl in the machinerbase flihalfway between the bosses I8 and [9. The base portion I2 is suitably madeof a heavy metal which is capable of being bent slightly at the middlewhen a considerable force is exerted thereon. Since the edges of thebase portion 12 are supported by the bosses I8 and [9 it is apparentthat tightening the machine screws '22 and 23 will cause the heads ofsaid screws to bow the center of the base downwardly with respect to theside edges thereof.

An elongated slot or passageway 26 divides the upright member i3 into apair of upright supporting arms 21 and 28. The slot or passageway 26extends from the opening or bore 20 in the base portion and through theupright member l3 to a point where it widens to form a bearing recess orslot 29 between the upright supporting arm 21 and 28. Each of thesupportin arms 21 and 28 is provided with a projection 33 extending intothe bearing recess 29 and adapted to guide the bearing or knife rest iwhen the parts are assembled. Each of the upright arms the bearing orknife rest into the bearing recess 29 so that the rounded upper edges ofthemejections 3|, 3| support the said bearing at the upper end of therecess l formed therein. The recess l0 preferably is slightly wider thanthe thickness of the projections 3|, 3| so that the bearing may rocklongitudinally on the rounded edges of said projections to a limitedextent. The upright arms 2'! and 28 are integrally connected with thebase portion l2 in such fashion that bowing the base downwardly at themiddle will cause the upright arms to move toward one anotherprogressively from their lower portions to their upper portions. Thusthe arms move toward each other so as to decrease the area between theprojections 30, 30. When the'bearing or knife rest I is positioned onthe supporting projections 3|, 3 I, the positions of the supporting armsare preferably adjusted so that the bearing is free to rock on theprojections 3|, 31 but is prevented from moving transversely orlaterally by the projections 30, 36.

A retaining member 32 is provided for preventing the pivot member I fromshifting longitudinally on the bearing or knife rest 1. The retainingmember 32 consists of a fiat portion 33 having a pair of elongated slots34 and 35 near either end thereof. The portion 33 is adapted to restupon the top of the projecting arms [4, M of the bearing support memberII and to be rigidly secured thereto by means of the screws [6, l6.Integrally associated with the portion 33 is a projecting arm 36 whichis curved to extend under the flat portion 33. The lower end of theprojecting arm 36 forms a hardened thrust plate 3! which is arranged ina plane parallel to the upright portion [3. The hardened thrust plate 31is adapted to engage the thrust point of the pivot member toprevent"endwise movement of the pivot member in one direction.

One advantage of the invention is that the mounting for the bearing maybe formed as a stamping in one piece from sheet metal. Adjustment of thebearing within the mounting is far simpler than anything heretoforeknown. The freedom of the bearing to move laterally 4 initially permitsthe self-alignment of the knife edge with the apical portion of thebearing groove. The simple expedient of tightening the screws on thebase plate of the mounting insures a snug fit between the bearing andits associated mounting without disturbing the aligned position of thebearing and the knife edge.

,The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A self-aligning bearing device of the class described comprising abearing adapted to serve as a bearing for a pivot member, mounting meansfor said bearing comprising means laterally disposed with respect tosaid bearing and adapted to engage said bearing on at least two sidesthereof when force is applied thereto, a base plate integrallyassociated with said laterally disposed means, means for supporting saidbase plate adjacent its edges and means forapplying force to a centralportion of said base plate thereby causing said laterally disposed meansto move toward each other and provide a snug fit with said bearing.

2. A bearing device of the class describedcomprising a bearing having apivot seat extending longitudinally along one surface thereofa nd arecess on the opposite surface thereof, a mounting for said bearingcomprising a pair of spaced upwardly extending arms, a supportassociated with said recess of said bearing between said arms, a baseplate connected to the ends of said arms and provided with a passagewayconnected to the space between said arms, means'for supporting said baseplate on opposite sides of said passageway while permitting said baseplate to be bowed downwardly adjacent said passageway, and means to bowsaid base plate downwardly adjacent said passageway to move said spacedarms toward each other and to increase the snugness of the fit of saidbearing in said mounting.

3. A self-aligning knife edge pivot and bearing assembly comprising abearing having a notch extending longitudinally along one surfacethereof and a groove extending transversely on the opposite surfacethereof, a knife edge pivot seated in said notch, a mounting for saidbear ing comprising a pair of spaced upwardly extending arms, a supportfor said groove of said bearing between said arms, a base plateconnected to the ends of said arms and provided with a passagewayextending to the space between said arms, means for supporting said baseplate adjacent its edges, and means to bow said base plate interiorly tomove said spaced arms toward each other to increase the snugness of thefit of said bearing in said mounting.

4. A self-aligning knife edge pivot and bearing assembly comprising abearing having a, notch extending longitudinally along one surfacethereof and a groove extending transversely on the opposite surfacethereof, a knife edge pivot seated in the said notch, a mounting forsaid bearing comprising a pair of spaced unwardly extending arms, asupport for said groove of said bearing between said arms, a base plateconnected to the lower ends of said arms, a support for said base plate,means associated with said base plate and said support to bow said baseplate downwardly causing said spaced upright arms to be moved towardeach other against opposite sides of the bearing to increase thesnugness of the fit of said bearing in said mounting, a thrust membermounted on said arms, and means to position said thrust member to adjustthe endwise and pivotal movement of said bearing.

5. A self-aligning knife edge pivot and bearing assembly comprising abearing having a V-shaped notch extending longitudinally along onesurface thereof and a U-shaped groove extending transversely on theopposite surface thereof, a knife edge pivot seated in the apex of saidV-shaped notch, a stamped metal mounting for said bearing comprising anupwardly extending portion having a pair of spaced upright arms, eacharm being formed with a projection on which a portion of said U-shapedgroove of said bearing rests between said arms and a projectionextending toward one of the opposite sides of said bearing, a base plateintegrally connected to the lower ends of said arms, a support for saidbase plate including raised portions engaging the base plate adjacentthe sides thereof, the central portion of said base plate beingunsupported and being provided with at least one hole connected by apassageway with the space between said arms, means comprising a screwpassing through said hole in said base plate and a threaded portion insaid support tightened to bow said base plate downwardly causing saidspaced upright arms to be moved toward each other until said projectionsextending toward said opposite sides of said bearing press againstopposite sides of the bearing sufficiently to increase the snugness ofthe fit of said bearing in said mounting and prevent lateral movement ofthe bearing while permitting some longitudinal movement, a projectionextending from the top of each of said upright arms, a thrust plateseated on said projections having a downwardly and inwardly extendingthrust member opposite said bearing, a pair of slots in said thrustplate and a corresponding pair of threaded holes in said upright arms,and a screw in each of said holes passing through its associated slottightened to hold said thrust plate with said thrust member positionedto limit the endwise and pivotal movement of said bearing.

6. A self-aligning knife edge pivot and bearing assembly comprising abearing having a V-shaped notch extending longitudinally along onesurface thereof and a U-shaped groove extending transversely on theopposite surface thereof, a knife edge pivot seated in the apex of saidV- shaped notch, a mounting for said bearing comprising an upwardlyextending portion having a pair of spaced upright arms, a lower portionof each arm being formed with a projection on which a portion of saidU-shaped groove of said bearing rests between said arms, a base plateintegrally connected to the lower ends of said arms, a support for saidbase plate including raised portions engaging the base plate adjacentthe sides thereof, the central portion of said base plate beingunsupported, means comprising a screw passing through said base plateand a threaded portion in said support tightened to bow said base platedownwardly causing said spaced upright arms to be moved toward eachother against opposite sides of the bearing to increase the snugness ofthe fit of said bearing in said mounting and prevent lateral movement ofthe bearing while permitting some longitu dinal movement, a projectionextending from the top of each of said upright arms, a thrust plateseated on said projections having a downwardly and inwardly extendingthrust member opposite said bearing, a pair of slots in said thrustplate and a corresponding pair of threaded holes in said upright arms,and a screw in each of said holes passing through its associated slottightened to hold said thrust plate with said thrust member positionedto limit the endwise pivotal movement of said bearing.

JAMES LESLIE FOSTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 555,768 Heyer Mar. 3, 1896949,094 Sonander Feb. 15, 1910 1,426,393 King Aug. 22, 1922 2,256,318Hadley Sept. 16, 1941

